When people ask me what I love to do for fun – my first answer is always travel!

One of the best things about traveling is you can experience so many different activities and try so many new things. Now another thing people point out is that it costs so much money which is true if you travel all over the world a lot. But I propose that it is probably easier to do than most people think.

So how can you help inspire a love for travel in your kids?

Documentaries

My love for travel began when I was four years old sitting on a couch in a living room in Michigan… Most people don’t often consider traveling sitting in our living room, but for me, that’s where it all started!

My love for travel began because my dad brought a documentary home from the library that day. The documentary was on Egypt both ancient and modern. It showed a towering sphynx with the head of a man and the body of a lion guarding its land. Then it showed a small cafe with people sitting around a small table enjoying coffee out of tiny espresso cups. The land looked so different than Michigan. Michigan is full of green trees and lakes whereas this land called Egypt was yellow! Yellow everywhere! Even in the cities, you could see yellow! There was just so much sand.  I was 4 years old when my dad brought home that documentary. As you can see to this day I remember sitting on the couch with my dad watching this documentary. This one act done by my dad changed me. It made me long to see different countries and experience different cultures. Because of this, I can say I have claimed my favorite activity to be travel, but for me, travel does not always have to be expensive!

Learn About Other Cultures & Countries

A great way to inspire travel in your kids is to just learn about other countries! Encourage them to find books or activities that interest them! The more you learn about each country and culture the more you begin to understand them and care about them. Other countries are made up of people just like you who have likes and dislikes.

It can be easy for us to think of other countries by how they are portrayed in the media. Certain countries are often shown as “bad guys” in action movies. It is important to help kids understand what they see in movies does not define these countries! Some of these countries have such a rich and fascinating history which significantly influences their society today!

Have a learner who loves to cook? Encourage them to try recipes from other countries!

There are many great books and information regarding different countries. For a hands-on experience and a year-long adventure in 30 countries check out Children Around the World!

Use the Word Different rather than Weird

Encourage them to think of things done in a different way as just different rather than weird. Differences are a good thing. Each individual is different, and each country is different. This is also a great principle to teach to help children relate to other children who may come from a different culture than their own.

Here’s a section from our Children Around the World – Children of Many Lands Resource!

Let’s Visit Dublin! My da and I have been to Dublin a few times, and I’d be pleased to take you there! Dublin is our country’s largest city by far, but is not very big compared with other capital cities. In Dublin, we could visit the Leinster House, where government officials make laws and discuss important matters. We could see the Daniel O’Connell statue, and see the bullet holes in the statue that were made during the Easter Rebellion.

We could walk over one of the several bridges that crosses the River Liffey in the heart of Dublin, and see why Dublin received its name. A little settlement sat on the bank o’ the River Liffey here and was called Dubh Linn, which meant “black pool.” You can see the dark water and remember why Dublin has its name. While there we could make a trip to Trinity College to see the Book of Kells I told you about, or see the historic St. Patrick’s Cathedral.

On our way home, we could travel a bit out o’ the way to the city o’ Cork, where we can head to the Blarney Stone. This is a very famous Irish landmark, and is in a castle underneath the battlements. A legend says that the castle’s owner found himself and his castle under attack, and saved the castle by talking his way out o’ the situation with the attackers. Now, the legend goes, if you kiss the Blarney Stone, you too will be able to talk your way out o’ trouble. The only problem is, you can only kiss the stone by hanging head-down! We’d sure have fun trying it!